Since bourbon is getting stupid….

[mmcneil]

Picked these up tonight. Woodford Reserve is good and a daily drinker. Never had Wilderness Trail but I’ve heard good things about it.

 

[GAK9]

Picked these up tonight. Woodford Reserve is good and a daily drinker. Never had Wilderness Trail but I’ve heard good things about it.

Had some Woodard Reserve last night. Really smooth stuff.

 

[GFB]

I visited and toured Heaven Hill yesterday morning. HH was one visit and tour among many. I just want to let you all know despite their good products, they are now totally woke--big time. They had not only gunbuster signs all over but also knife buster signs as well. They also had a 6' tall 'love is love' rainbow banner on their main entryway window. They felt they should blast you with a load of their political views before you entered. All other distilleries I visited had nothing of the sort and remained politically agnostic, which would include: Willett, Maker's Mark, Old Forester, Buffalo Trace, Jim Beam, Four Roses, Bardstown Bourbon Co, and Lux Row.

What was your favorite tour?

 

[Mrs_Esterhouse]

What was your favorite tour?

Old Forester by far. It gets very technical and shows you beginning to end how it's made. Their tour on Whiskey Row in Louisville is where it's held and is a more or less a dog and pony show for enthusiasts, but don't let that put you off. It showcases their entire process on a small scale, which makes it very comfortable and accessible for small tour groups. It's a truly functioning small distillery and has its own rick house all scaled down to a fraction of their Shively facility's size. Also pretty cool, their Whiskey Row rick house is literally bomb proof. It's built that way in order not to put neighboring buildings at risk of fire or an ethanol vapor explosion. Even the security cameras inside are housed in stainless cylinders with sapphire lens covers to survive a blast and fire.

After Old Forester, Willett was the next most enjoyable. It was unfussy and a bit informal, which I appreciated. The most disappointing tour was Heaven Hill, not only for their anti gun/woke propaganda but because it really lacked any substance. They played a cheesy promotional film, walked you around to a few spots and then offered you a tasting of their common, high production whiskeys. **** Heaven Hill.

Buffalo Trace was interesting from a historical perspective. I took the BT 'Taylor' tour, but you have to book months in advance as they sell out in 5-10 mins of the ticket release on their website. It's not any better than Old Forester's tour, which is bookable only a few weeks vs months in advance.

The best food in Bardstown is dinner at Willett, which we also booked months in advance. It will run you well over $200 per couple, which was too expensive for what it was. I could have spent the same at The Optimist in Atlanta and had a better meal. The second best food in Bardstown is the cafe at Bardstown Bourbon Company.

I would recommend milling around Bardstown for no more than a day. It kind of sucks. It's like Helen GA levels of cheesy but with a bourbon vs. cuckoo clock theme. There is a whole lot more to do and see in Louisville. Walking from Kentucky into Indiana over the Ohio river on the historic Big Four pedestrian bridge is a must.

Here are my Louisville dining recs:

* Sunergos Coffee
* The Table
* Mayan Cafe
* bar Vetti (brunch/lunch)
* Pizza Lupo (so ****ing good!)
* Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* Butchertown Grocery
* Mussel & Burger Bar
* Big Bad Breakfast (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* Wild Eggs (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* La Bodeguita De Mima Cuban Restaurant and Rum Bar
* Georgia's Sweet Potato Pie Company (desserts)
* CC's Kitchen (brunch/lunch) (caution: very gay)

Stay at either The Seelbach Hotel or The Brown Hotel for maximum awesome or an Airbnb around those two locations.

 

[GFB]

Old Forester by far. It gets very technical and shows you beginning to end how it's made. Their tour on Whiskey Row in Louisville is where it's held and is a more or less a dog and pony show for enthusiasts, but don't let that put you off. It showcases their entire process on a small scale, which makes it very comfortable and accessible for small tour groups. It's a truly functioning small distillery and has its own rick house all scaled down to a fraction of their Shively facility's size. Also pretty cool, their Whiskey Row rick house is literally bomb proof. It's built that way in order not to put neighboring buildings at risk of fire or an ethanol vapor explosion. Even the security cameras inside are housed in stainless cylinders with sapphire lens covers to survive a blast and fire.

After Old Forester, Willett was the next most enjoyable. It was unfussy and a bit informal, which I appreciated. The most disappointing tour was Heaven Hill, not only for their anti gun/woke propaganda but because it really lacked any substance. They played a cheesy promotional film, walked you around to a few spots and then offered you a tasting of their common, high production whiskeys. **** Heaven Hill.

Buffalo Trace was interesting from a historical perspective. I took the BT 'Taylor' tour, but you have to book months in advance as they sell out in 5-10 mins of the ticket release on their website. It's not any better than Old Forester's tour, which is bookable only a few weeks vs months in advance.

The best food in Bardstown is dinner at Willett, which we also booked months in advance. It will run you well over $200 per couple, which was too expensive for what it was. I could have spent the same at The Optimist in Atlanta and had a better meal. The second best food in Bardstown is the cafe at Bardstown Bourbon Company.

I would recommend milling around Bardstown for no more than a day. It kind of sucks. It's like Helen GA levels of cheesy but with a bourbon vs. cuckoo clock theme. There is a whole lot more to do and see in Louisville. Walking from Kentucky into Indiana over the Ohio river on the historic Big Four pedestrian bridge is a must.

Here are my Louisville dining recs:

* Sunergos Coffee
* The Table
* Mayan Cafe
* bar Vetti (brunch/lunch)
* Pizza Lupo (so ****ing good!)
* Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* Butchertown Grocery
* Mussel & Burger Bar
* Big Bad Breakfast (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* Wild Eggs (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* La Bodeguita De Mima Cuban Restaurant and Rum Bar
* Georgia's Sweet Potato Pie Company (desserts)
* CC's Kitchen (brunch/lunch) (warning: very gay)

Stay at either The Seelbach Hotel or The Brown Hotel for maximum awesome or an Airbnb around those two locations.

Thanks, man. I'm going to do it.

 

[GFB]

Where all the nocturnal animals?

They're usually in the insomnia thread.

 

[kodis556]

kodis556, nice score. I’m right down the road from you in Rome. I’m not sure where the liquor store is in Summerville. I haven’t been up that way since last year. I’ll have to make a trip up. I’ve found weller special reserve once this year in Rome.

Missed this as you didn't tag my user name with the "@"... sending you a PM with honeyhole info

 

[GAK9]

Old Forester by far. It gets very technical and shows you beginning to end how it's made. Their tour on Whiskey Row in Louisville is where it's held and is a more or less a dog and pony show for enthusiasts, but don't let that put you off. It showcases their entire process on a small scale, which makes it very comfortable and accessible for small tour groups. It's a truly functioning small distillery and has its own rick house all scaled down to a fraction of their Shively facility's size. Also pretty cool, their Whiskey Row rick house is literally bomb proof. It's built that way in order not to put neighboring buildings at risk of fire or an ethanol vapor explosion. Even the security cameras inside are housed in stainless cylinders with sapphire lens covers to survive a blast and fire.

After Old Forester, Willett was the next most enjoyable. It was unfussy and a bit informal, which I appreciated. The most disappointing tour was Heaven Hill, not only for their anti gun/woke propaganda but because it really lacked any substance. They played a cheesy promotional film, walked you around to a few spots and then offered you a tasting of their common, high production whiskeys. **** Heaven Hill.

Buffalo Trace was interesting from a historical perspective. I took the BT 'Taylor' tour, but you have to book months in advance as they sell out in 5-10 mins of the ticket release on their website. It's not any better than Old Forester's tour, which is bookable only a few weeks vs months in advance.

The best food in Bardstown is dinner at Willett, which we also booked months in advance. It will run you well over $200 per couple, which was too expensive for what it was. I could have spent the same at The Optimist in Atlanta and had a better meal. The second best food in Bardstown is the cafe at Bardstown Bourbon Company.

I would recommend milling around Bardstown for no more than a day. It kind of sucks. It's like Helen GA levels of cheesy but with a bourbon vs. cuckoo clock theme. There is a whole lot more to do and see in Louisville. Walking from Kentucky into Indiana over the Ohio river on the historic Big Four pedestrian bridge is a must.

Here are my Louisville dining recs:

* Sunergos Coffee
* The Table
* Mayan Cafe
* bar Vetti (brunch/lunch)
* Pizza Lupo (so ****ing good!)
* Blue Dog Bakery & Cafe (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* Butchertown Grocery
* Mussel & Burger Bar
* Big Bad Breakfast (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* Wild Eggs (breakfast/brunch/coffee)
* La Bodeguita De Mima Cuban Restaurant and Rum Bar
* Georgia's Sweet Potato Pie Company (desserts)
* CC's Kitchen (brunch/lunch) (warning: very gay)

Stay at either The Seelbach Hotel or The Brown Hotel for maximum awesome or an Airbnb around those two locations.

Very informative. Curious, did you go to Maker’s Mark? I enjoyed the tour there. They really like veterans and the tour was very informative. Our guide (in all black in the last picture) was very, very laid back, funny, and had already knocked back a few before our tour (her 1st of the day). She allowed us to taste the mash pictured below knowing it taste like ****. 2 of us did anyway and quickly regretted it.

 

[Mrs_Esterhouse]

Very informative. Curious, did you go to Maker’s Mark? I enjoyed the tour there. They really like veterans and the tour was very informative. Our guide (in all black in the last picture) was very, very laid back, funny, and had already knocked back a few before our tour (her 1st of the day). She allowed us to taste the mash pictured below knowing it taste like ****. 2 of us did anyway and quickly regretted it.View attachment 4558076View attachment 4558078View attachment 4558079View attachment 4558080

I did tour Maker's about 14 years ago, and it was beautiful but didn't do the tour this last trip. I did visit the gift shop to pick up and dip a private select exclusive, which was fun.

 

[BlackRifler42]

I’ve got a Batch 1 for trade if anyone is close to Ringgold!